Green's Hill-Amy Lane's Home - News

Monday, January 9, 2017

Rain

When I was six years old, we lived in an old--extremely unsafe--house. We used to have to drain the claw-footed bathroom out the 1 1/2 story window with a piece of surgical tubing.

I was very conscious about water. I remember washing my hands and wondering, "Where does the water go? Will we ever run out? No--grownups won't let it."

The next year, California entered the first drought that I can remember.

When I was eighteen, my best friend and I thought we'd go to my night classes during the worst storm California could remember. It was 1986-- horses drowned at Cal Expo that night, trees floated across flooded parked roads, and my friend and I were out in the middle of a maelstrom, because she was afraid her horse, roaming free in a field, might be in danger like the unfortunate animals down next to the Sacramento river. Her car stalled in the middle of someone's driveway, we walked three miles in the rain, dodged lamas swimming over a flooded fence, and broke into her friend's house so we could find shelter.

Dumb things you do when you're young and stupid, right?

In 1996, Mate's mom called us in our second story apartment and asked us if we were okay. When we replied--rather puzzled--that we were fine, she told us to look out the window. Our apartment was fine, but half a block down, every 1st story apartment in the block was under water.

Last year, it was reported that the middle of my state had sunk nearly three inches because the water table had dropped so low, the earth was actually SINKING.

Californians worry about water.

One way or another, every day. Is the snow pack high? Will it get us through summer? Is it melting too fast? Will we flood this winter? Will the storm wash us away?

I took the dogs walking today for half a mile. They still think I was trying to kill them.

2 comments:

Your post was spot on for me even though I'm in the semi-arid portion of the Southern hemisphere. For the past couple of years, we had long periods of drought. And then this Summer,rain came and we were so grateful. And it rained and rained... non-stop. Day before yesterday, my brother, SIL and I went to town and the whole town, which is on flat terrain, looked like it was flooding. It was so weird, because everyone is used to this place being dry and the concept that we could flood was so foreign. Anyhoo, thanks for the videos. And the laugh. I needed that.

As a fellow Sacramentan, I hear you. I moved into a lovely condo complex by the American River (Woodside East) in 2009, only to learn afterwards that it has flooded 4 separate times. Luckily my side and unit has never flooded in the padt, but I spent Saturday and Sunday obsessively watching the water levels and probably will tomorrow too. My poor sister's family in Hidden Valley Lake was evacuated during the fires a little over a year ago and nearly lost their home. Well yesterday they were evacuated for flooding. Seriously, poor Lake County. Stay warm and dry Amy. I am considering forming a group to begin ark construction if this keeps up. 😊

About Me

I am creative, distracted, and terribly weird. I love my children to distraction, and I love my hobbies even when they piss me off. I come from a double line of extremely creative, intelligent people who hated authority so much they dodged higher education, and I married a wonderful man who is quiet, conservative, devestatingly funny, and perfect. Our children are constant reminders that God and Goddess have a profound sense of humor, and that all of the things you dislike most about yourself but pretend don't exist really do come back on the karmic wheel to kick your ass when you least expect it. My family keeps me young and humble and I try every day to make them proud. I've written a LOT of books--I can't even count anymore, most of them for Dreamspinner Press and Riptide Press, but some of them published on my own. I write to placate the voices in my head, profanity is the element I swim in, and knitting socks at stoplights has become my twitch.

Quickening

The Fifth Book of the Little Goddess series will be out in two parts, May 2nd and June 16th.

*Kermit Flail*

If you would like to submit a new release for *Kermit Flail* Monday, simply e-mail me at amylane@greenshill.com with your title, .jpg cover attachment, blurb, and buy link. It helps if I know you-- I'll say sweet things about you-- but even if I don't, I'm happy to put you up on the *Flail*.